A TRIP ON THE SOUTH STRIP

If you haven't been on the south Strip lately, I gotta tell you, the changes aren't all pretty. It's class vs. class.t- shirts and baggy pants and baseball caps backwards vs.$300 suits and ties and dresses, t-shirts and tennis shoes and hip-packs vs. baby strollers to 3 yr olds wearing Ralph Lauren t-shirts (doesn't anyone have collars and buttons on their shirts anymore?) From the kids from L.A. who stole grandma's car late Friday night and pooled their money for gas and a 6-pack (forget the hotel room, we'll sleep it off in shifts in the back seat) to the $300 a night hotel room and comps after blowing $3,000 in the first 2 hours at Bellagio or Mandalay Bay and hoping they can stretch the last $1,000 and still get comped.

The restaurant scene is the same way. There are no more buffets under $12.99 the $1.99 steak and eggs are now ala carte for $27 for the 3 inch thick rare steak in dimly lit French restaurant, the eggs (an extra $7.99) aren't scrambled, but poached in a light burgandy-mango-curry creme sauce with a stem of Basil on top served by some guy named Enrique, and the wine list is thicker than War and Peace and don't you dare order the wine by the color (there is no more red or white wine), but by the name and year, and you better eat by 10:00 or it's the coffe shop. I challenge anyone to go south of Flamingo Rd. and find a midnight graveyard special anywhere.

They sure classed up the Strip, but who can afford the changes? You won't find the dealers there anymore. Not for $4 beers and $7 drinks You can't play without a players club card anymore not if you expect a comp. Comps are now determined by how many points you have. If you've been playing an hour at $25 a hand and forgot to give them your card you're out of luck, they'll tell you "sorry, but we don't have you on the computer." Walking the south strip can be a trip to Disneyland on LSD; Peter Pan is wearing a $500 Armani suit, $150 silk tie and Italian leather shoes and drinking a $100 bottle of French wine and he ain't flying with strings anymore. Tinker Bell is played by Tommy Tune in a $2 million dollar production show for $65 a seat. Although I have to admit I do love the stroll along the lakefront at Bellagio. With the Eiffel Tower across the street. When Andrea Bocelli sings and the water cannons start to fire. But it's the Toyotas vs. the Lexus,Land Rovers and Dodge vans with 12 tourists hanging out the windows and doors with their camcorders and bottle of Bud lining up in front to get it all on film. What's happening on the south strip is a trip. It doesn't feel the same anymore, let alone even look familiar to anyone who hasn't been here in a year or more (the Venitian is another story all together) does anyone even remember what the Sands or Dunes even looked like? Sinatra, Sammy and Deano, the guys who made this town, are an old memory and certainly not even a cement block in their names even exist. The Strip forgot The Strip and hopes you will too. Don't be afraid to walk north of Treasure Island. The Stardust, Riviera and Circus Circus still look the same. Beers are still a buck at Slots-A-Fun and you can still get dinner for less than the cost of a Chevy. But if you're planning a trip to Vegas and still remember the old town, better bring an old photo with you and bring lots of money and PLEASE, LEAVE THE DAMN HIP PACKS AT HOME AND BRING A SHIRT.

-- Ken Pearlman, Las Vegas